TAMPA, Fla. — Josh Manson nonetheless had his baggage half-packed from the Avalanche’s final time on the highway once they returned dwelling with the prospect to win the Stanley Cup.
That didn’t occur, and now he and his teammates will likely be confronted with Sport 6 on Sunday night time towards the Lightning. The sport will likely be at Amalie Enviornment, the place Tampa Bay hoisted the Cup a yr in the past to win its second straight championship.
The Avalanche, making an attempt to win their first championship as a bunch and the group’s first since 2001, know the immense problem they've in entrance of them towards a determined opponent that has extra expertise this deep into the playoffs.
“It's important to have that desperation as a result of it’s the finals,” Manson stated Saturday in Denver earlier than flying to Florida’s Gulf Coast. “You may’t have a look at the quantity of video games that we've got left. It's important to be determined each single sport.”
Colorado would desperately wish to keep away from a second consecutive loss, which might units up Sport 7 again in Denver on Wednesday and would transfer Tampa Bay one victory away from a three-peat. And the Avalanche actually have a recipe for dealing with this example towards a extra seasoned playoff opponent.
That got here within the second spherical, when the Avalanche went up 3-1 within the second spherical towards rival St. Louis — the final crew to win the Cup earlier than the Lightning’s run started in 2020. Very similar to Friday night time, Colorado misplaced a one-goal sport at dwelling to the Blues earlier than bouncing again to shut out the collection on the highway in St. Louis.
Manson stated the Avalanche realized some desperation from that sequence, however the stakes are larger within the remaining, with the Stanley Cup within the constructing.
“I understand how a lot our guys need it now: They’ve labored for it,” coach Jared Bednar stated. “There’s a certain quantity of stress and anxiousness that it's a must to attempt to put out of your head so you possibly can carry your greatest efficiency.”
The Lightning know all about these psychological gymnastics, together with some new tips they’ve picked up this postseason. The convention remaining towards the Rangers was the primary time they trailed a collection since getting swept within the first spherical in 2019 (the collection loss that set the course for this run) they usually had not fallen behind 3-1 till now.
Having already staved off elimination as soon as, and armed with the expertise of profitable 11 consecutive collection, coach Jon Cooper and his crew know precisely what to anticipate from all sides in Sport 6.
“There’s little doubt we’re higher outfitted in these conditions since you form of really feel [like] you place your self within the sneakers of the opposite groups, too, and what they should be considering, what you’re considering once you’re in these conditions and the way video games performed out,” Cooper stated. “It’s expertise. … And expertise issues.”
Freshest for the Avalanche is the painful expertise of blowing the prospect to hitch the Lightning as the one groups over the previous seven years to win the Cup at dwelling. However earlier playoff disappointments have steeled this core group to deal with adversity, and within the instant aftermath of their 3-2 loss in Sport 5, leaders have been already placing it within the rearview mirror.
“We’ll bounce proper again,” captain Gabriel Landeskog stated, pointing to the significance of getting a brief reminiscence within the playoffs. “It’s a seven-game collection. It’s not presupposed to be straightforward, and it’s not going to be.”
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